Misinformation and Voter Distrust in 2024 Elections

Mistrust in election results is amplified among Republicans, fueled by misinformation and speculation.

### Misinformation and Trust in the 2024 Election: Analyzing Current Challenges
* 🌐 "On Election Day, navigating social media feels like **trying to drink water from a fire hydrant** due to overwhelming speculation and uncertainty."
* 🔍 There is significant difficulty in discerning the truth amid the chaos, as many **rumors circulate about the election process**.
* 📊 Current data indicates a **heightened level of mistrust** among the Republican base regarding election results, unlike their Democratic counterparts who generally maintain **trust**.
* 🚨 The "three C's" of this election highlight concerns about **safety**, evidence gathering of **alleged irregularities**, and potential **legal challenges to election outcomes**.
* 🗳 Issues emerging during early voting include claims of **fraudulent voter registrations** and **machine malfunctions**, which can lead to **larger conspiracy theories**.
* 🔧 Fortunately, many of these problems have **established remedies**, which is a positive aspect to consider.
* 📈 Future policies will focus on **analyzing how misinformation spreads** to inform changes within tech and government organizations, aiming to **rebuild trust with the public**.
* 🤝 The ongoing effort involves collecting data that can guide election officials in **maintaining the confidence of American voters**.

Danielle, there is a feeling of amplified divisiveness, but is that feeling a reality? Good morning, Carolyn. Thank you for having me on the show. The truth is, when you're online on social media on Election Day, it's like trying to drink water from a fire hydrant. There are so many feelings, so much on circuit uncertainty, so much speculation about what is going on that it's actually very hard to get a true sense, a signal in the noise on a day like today. So that's something that it's hard to tell exactly. We're trying to sift through all of the rumors that are happening to get a sense of what's going on. Danielle, we've reported on this program in recent days about how, for example, U.S. cybersecurity officials are trying to reestablish some trust with the voting base. Have you any sort of data research study that tells us how in this election,

literally today, in 2024, misinformation and voter distrust will be a factor relative to two elections in the past. Absolutely. So something that we have to understand that is unique about this election in general is that so much of the American public is primed to mistrust election results on the Republican right. So we think of it as kind of like the three C's right now. There are people out there who have convinced the American public that this election won't be safe, although it overwhelmingly by officials it is safe. They encourage folks to go out and collect evidence that there is something wrong happening on Election Day. And of course, with 130,000 different polling sites in America, there are bound to be irregularities or glitches or altercations, but these have remedies. And then finally, people will go out and try to contest the election results or processes or procedures legally or politically after this. So, yes, it is true there is increased

mistrust, particularly among or predominantly among Republicans. Democrats tend to trust elections, and we're going to see some of that play out online. In 2020, I was in Arizona. An electorate election integrity or the integrity of voting systems was the issue. Then. What is the issue now? Today, November 5th, 2024. We've seen a couple of themes emerge in during early voting and during today. Some of those were around alleged fraudulent voter registration forms. Some of them are alleged glitches in machines that are being one small problem being extrapolated into a larger conspiracy theory. So those are some issues that we've seen and that we will continue to see. But it's important to remember that these issues tend to have remedies, and that's a good thing. Talking of remedies, young looking and researching into misinformation and then trying to convert it into policy. Is there future policy that can help tackle this going forward?

It's a good question. Today, we mostly focus on gathering different types of data sets of how rumors spread on platforms that are going to inform policy change, whether that is internal to tech organizations or to government organizations or to also to all the different election officials and boards of elections around the country who want to gain the trust and keep the trust of the American public. So that's what we're focused on today, is getting that data to help those solutions later.

Parsing Election Facts From Fiction

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Misinformation and Voter Distrust in the 2024 Election

The online atmosphere on Election Day is chaotic, making it difficult to discern the truth amidst the noise.

There is a unique mistrust of election results, particularly on the Republican side, with individuals encouraging others to collect evidence of wrongdoing.

Irregularities at polling sites are common, but they have remedies, and there is a trend of contesting election results legally or politically.

Mistrust in the electoral process is predominantly seen among Republicans, while Democrats tend to have more faith in elections.

Early voting in 2024 has revealed themes of alleged fraudulent voter registrations and machine glitches, which are being amplified into larger conspiracy theories.

Despite these issues, there are remedies available, and there is potential for future policies to address misinformation and improve the electoral process.

Gathering Data on Rumor Spread for Policy Change

The focus is on collecting data sets related to the spread of rumors on various platforms.

This data aims to inform policy changes for tech organizations, government agencies, and election officials.

The goal is to help these organizations gain and maintain the trust of the American public.